Monday, July 27, 2009

Preaching to the Choir

It has often been said of many of the speakers that come to the US to address the “Settlement Issue” or to speak, or raise funds for various projects throughout Yehuda and Shomron (Yesha), that they are usually “Preaching to the Choir”.There is no doubt that this is a correct statement.However the task is not “Preaching” it is Teaching. It is teaching that same choir how to sing that is needed most.Most “Choirs” know the sermon by heart, but few can repeat it out loud.Heads shake in agreement, but when the verses are needed to be heard and to be heard out loud by others, the words and tunes are mysteriously jumbled or forgotten.

Our “Preachers” erred greatly when they only approached those that came to choir practice.They forgot to look for talent outside of the box.Perhaps this is why we only hear the music on select channels and not all over the bandwidth.

It seems that many choir members are tired of hearing the same sermon, time and time again to the point that they do not sing anymore.

The sermon must change and new members are needed.Talent must come from all over and not just the closed doors of the sanctuary.This task is in the charge of the Preachers, and they must learn that all octaves are needed to make a great choir.Relearning is needed by all.

The Jewish people are at a crossroads, with their souls being chased by many.One thing for sure is that a wrong decision will have dire results for all of us all over the world.The entire concept of legality and truth are being rewritten before our eyes, a double standard is quickly becoming a double-edged sword.Israel’s personal business has become everybody’s business with the world telling us we don’t have the right to decide anything for ourselves.As children we have all learned that there comes a time when we have to stand up to bullies, now is that time, no matter how many there are.

Nobody in this world has the right to dictate to Israel what to do, it is the other way around, and it is up to Israel to show the world what to do.

Every moral law is being broken regarding the Jews of Israel.What would be deplored as blatant discrimination and hatred and injustice is quickly becoming Standard Operating Procedure towards Israel.Accepted once again is discrimination against the Jews, this time at government and international levels.

Lack of leadership, lack of direction and the compromise to terror has brought us down this path.The land of Israel has always represented strength and unity to the Jewish people. As the attempts to carve it up increased, as our leaders gave in to the world, it has affected all of us as a people.The momentum decreased, we started to splinter and this is the opportunity our enemies were waiting for.

The many faces of the Jewish people started looking elsewhere for leadership often forgetting that we are one.We allowed our differences to take over and separate us, the first victim being the heartland of Israel and the dedicated Jews living there.The target is Jewish strength and Jewish identity.

The choir has been coming apart, no longer are their voices loud enough to be heard over the shouts of hatred.We find ourselves now on the defense.Jewish students on campuses throughout the US desperately seek ways to respond to Arabs and Left wing enemies of Israel.Israel did not become a strong nation by responding, but by taking the initiative and moving forward.When we perceived a threat, we made the first move in order to preserve life, to protect life.Israel learned that responding to attacks cost too much blood.Yet today our brothers outside of Israel cower and hide or worse, adopt the enemy standpoint.

So it is time to reorganize the choir, to teach them to sing loud, to teach them to sing together, to deafen the shouts of our enemies.A successful choir must include many octaves, and they must learn to work together despite the tonal differences.

The preaching will continue, and the teaching will continue until we can rebuild that choir.We will learn to sing again, together as one, and the world will be our audience, and the music and voices will be heard again from our hearts and our heartland, Yehuda and Shomron.

1 comment:

Thank you. This brings me back to my first Shabbos in the old city...We were standing on the roof of Israelight close to Havdala, and as we began making Havdalah the noise began coming from the dome..and I remember how we began to sing louder and louder in order to drown out the noise of our enemies. Hashem should please give us the chizuk to do just that, to start singing louder and louder as Hashem's beloved childred.

About Me

I served as the Chief Army Security Coordinator for the Shilo Region in Israel from 1996 through 2006. This biblically significant area between Ramallah and Nablus (Shechem) was a hotbed of terrorism, plagued by acts of violence against Jews during my tenure. I was personally involved in defending against numerous terror attacks in this region. I continue to work in the Security field in hopes of continuing to defend and protect others from acts of terrorism.

My views are based on my experiences as a Security Officer involved “ground level” against terrorism.

Israel is under fire not only from relentless attacks from Arab terrorists, but also from the court of world opinion, which is essentially calling for Israel to stop, defending itself and to give up its heartland in Judea and Samaria.

I continue to work with various organizations and projects that provide Security and Emergency First Response against terrorism.

I try to bring a unique perspective to many as they often provide a view not seen by most, and show sometimes what is happening behind the scenes.